KidLit Contest

Well, with the beginning of the new year I have found I have a renewed interest in getting somewhere with my writing. I have joined a new critique website: scribophile.com. That now makes the writing websites I belong to at a grand total of three (reviewfuse.com, writerscafe.org and now scribophile.com). I am enjoying scribophile because I can pick and choose what I critique rather than randomly being assigned something.

I have also decided that my latest story, Cocoon, is ready to be sent away with my best wishes for a great success. I have edited and re-edited, been critiqued and reviewed, and am ready to find a home for my paranormal romance story. My first foray into the big, bad world of agents and publishing will be with a website I found and love called kidlit.com. The site is written by Mary Kole who is an editor with Andrea Brown Literary Agency. I actually had that agency picked out as one I wanted to query so this will be a great way to get my foot (toe) in the door and see if they like my style.

If anyone else out there is a writer of Young Adult Fiction, check out their website. The contest ends January 31, 2010. Good luck to us all!

Books I've read in 2009

Here is a list of books I’ve read in the last year. Please tell me which ones you liked and which ones you hated. I’ve grouped them roughly in the order I liked them.


A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb
Deadly Little Secrets by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Hush Hush by Becca Fitzgerald
Swoon by Nina Malkin
The Host by Stephenie Meyer

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Evermore by Alyson Noel
Blue Moon by Alyson Noel
Shadowland by Alyson Noel

Fade by Lisa McMann
Wake by Lisa McMann

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

Generation Dead by Daniel Waters
Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Skinned by Robin Wasserman

The Mediator by Meg Cabot
Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Don’t Die Dragonfly by Linda Joy Singleton
Project 17 by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Switch by Carol Snow
Immortal by Gillian Shields


What I’m reading now: Fallen by Lauren Kate
What I’m reading next: Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz
Midnighters #1 by Scott Westerfeld

Pseudonyms

Okay, why the pseudonym? If this is supposed to be a blog about discovering all the pieces that make up me, why am I hiding behind a fake name? Good question. I’m not sure I have an answer but perhaps now would be a good time to explore it.

As I eluded in my opening blog, I am a writer. I write Young Adult mostly but have also written picture books and a middle grade novel. One day when I was particularly stuck with a writer’s block I decide to count all the people I knew. It was a few years ago but I reached over a thousand. Mind you, I only included people I actively talked with on a somewhat regular basis. Of that one thousand plus people, how many do you think know that I write children’s stories? If you exclude the six people in my family – I’d say zero. That’s right – zero.

Why so secretive? Probably my fear of failure or being judged by those I know. I don’t want people to know I tried and sucked. And I don’t want to hear about it if they read something I wrote and say, “Boy, that was lame. I can write better than that.” Besides, lots of writers use fake names.

But the real reason if I get right down to it is because it is MY goal. Becoming a writer has been MY journey. It’s meant that I had to start as a beginner. I had to acknowledge that despite having a Master’s Degree and being a teacher there was a lot I didn’t know about writing a good story.

So here I am, still learning.

Because writing is such an important, albeit silent, part of my life I hope to use this blog to connect with other writers of young adult fiction. If you are a writer, I’d love to hear from you. If you are established or still struggling, feel free to put in your advice or two cents worth.

Namaste’

Klinkalink's Links...

That’s me. Klinkalink. A pseudonym I came up with years ago when I was into making jewellery. Little did I know it would stick with me into my writing life. I was originally attracted to the name because the word sounded like clinking jewellery. I’ve kept it because it sounds kind of dopey, and is a constant reminder of the old adage: Don’t take yourself so seriously.

The reason I am using it for my blog is because, taking the jewellery metaphor a bit further, links make up a chain. A chain makes a circle (as in a necklace) and the circle is the symbol of life. More specifically, described here, it is my life. If you see only one link, that is only one piece of who I am. Even a couple of links and you still don’t get the whole picture.

So, my blogs will be the links that make up me – my thoughts, my interests, my rants.
I am inviting you into my circle of links. Together we will be adding links to the chain.

Namaste’